Artemis and Actaeon Trivia
Brain Snacks: Tasty Tidbits of Knowledge
The Actaeon Beetle is one of the biggest beetles in existence. This bad boy lives in South America, and can grow to be up to 5 inches long (source).
Ovid says that Actaeon had 35 dogs, and gives each of them a name. Here are a few of our favorites: Ichnobates, Melanchaetes (she probably had a dark coat, since "melan-" is a prefix meaning black), and Oresitrophus. Say those three times fast.
In one depiction of the myth, Actaeon's dogs look like greyhounds. But some researchers speculate that they were Laconians, a sleek dog very popular with the Greeks (source).
By no means did Artemis have a lock on the "virgin goddess" thing. Athena and Hestia swore off male suitors, as well.
In 2007, Sotheby's auctioned a statue called Artemis and the Stag for $28.6 million dollars. (But be warned, this stag ain't Actaeon).